Will P. Brady

William Paul Brady (12 February 1876 – 27 February 1943) was an American lawyer. He served as a district attorney in Reeves County, Texas, where he prosecuted a case that has later been termed a "legal lynching". Later he worked as a judge, in private practice, and in local politics.

Early life and education

Will P. Brady was born on 12 February 1876 in Austin, Texas.[1] His parents, James and Agnes Brady,[2] were early settlers of the city, having arrived five years earlier.[3][4] Will Brady was one of five children; his siblings were John W., David John, Agnes, and Helen Brady.[4][5][6] He was also the uncle of, among others, the philologist Caroline Brady.[7] Brady's brother John W. was also a lawyer and a judge, whose successful career was ended by a three-year prison sentence for murder; the prosecution had sought the death penalty.[5][8]

Brady studied law at the University of Texas.[1]

Career

Black and white photograph of León Martínez Jr.
León Martínez Jr.

Brady was appointed the district attorney of Reeves County, Texas, on 3 February 1909 by Governor Thomas Mitchell Campbell.[9] He was the first to take the position, which gave responsibility over the newly-created seventieth judicial district; S. J. Isaacks, a Midland attorney, was named its judge.[9]

In 1911, Brady was the district attorney for the prosecution of León Martínez Jr.,[10] a case that has since been termed a "legal lynching".[11] After a 26-year-old woman, Emma Brown, was found murdered, Martínez was arrested, largely on the evidence that he had been seen speaking to Brown at the general store the day of the murder.[12] Martínez, who was 15, confessed twice: once, when a posse promised not to hang him until the sheriff arrived if he confessed, and again, when the sheriff threatened to hand Martínez back to the posse if he did not confess.[12] In the early morning of 24 July 1911, two days after the murder, Brady held up Martínez's written (albeit coerced) confession to the crowd gathered outside the jail.[13]

Five days after Martínez's arrest, with Brady prosecuting, a guilty verdict and a death sentence were in hand.[10][14] After the verdict, according to The Galveston Daily News, "hundreds" of people came up to Brady and Judge Isaacks to shake their hands "for their prompt attention to the case and their narrow avertence of a lynching."[10] Isaacks scheduled the hanging for a month hence, on 1 September.[15] Though a petition, said to be signed by "nearly every person in Reeves county," was sent to the governor asking him to not grant clemency,[16] national and international concern, as well as appeals, including an unsuccessful appeal to the Supreme Court dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, pushed the case into 1914.[17] Brady was said by the El Paso Herald to be "active in pushing the case ... towards a carrying out of the judgment of the district court, calling for hanging, as strongly as he knows how" during these proceedings.[18] Martínez was hanged on 11 May 1914.[19]

Later in his career Brady served two terms as judge of the county court in El Paso.[1] He moved to Los Angeles thereafter, working there and in Santa Barbara as an oil attorney.[1] Moving to Creston around 1931, he served as the local manager for the campaign of Franklin D. Roosevelt for the 1932 presidential election.[1]

Personal life

Brady married Mabel Rarey on 3 December 1911, in Carlsbad, New Mexico.[20] At his death he had four children surviving: Helen Jane and Catherine Marie Brady of San Luis Obispo, Sister Elizabeth Marie Brady of San Bernardino, and Master Sgt. James William Brady, stationed at Hobbs Army Airfield in New Mexico.[1] Will Brady died on 27 February 1943, in San Luis Obispo, California, where he is buried.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "William Brady Taken by Death in S.L.O." San Luis Obispo Telegram Tribune. San Luis Obispo, California. 27 February 1943. p. 5.
  2. ↑ "Real Estate Transfers". The Austin Daily Statesman. XXII. Austin, Texas. 28 August 1893. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ "Mrs. James Brady Dies at Long Beach, Calif". The Austin Statesman. 50 (357). Austin, Texas. 25 May 1922. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 "James Brady". The Austin Statesman. 54 (180). Austin, Texas. 16 December 1924. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. 1 2 "John Brady, Legal Figure, Dies at 74". The Austin Statesman. 73 (81). Austin, Texas. 17 December 1943. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Mrs. Wilder Services Scheduled". El Paso Herald-Post. LXXXVIII (I). El Paso, Texas. 9 January 1968. p. B3 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "BRADY, Col. David John". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. 28 January 1953. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Jury in Famous Case Gives Former Jurist Sentence in Prison". Corsicana Semi-Weekly Light. XLV (46). Corsicana, Texas. 20 May 1930. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. 1 2 "Will Brady Appointed New District Attorney". The Austin Statesman. 40 (35). Austin, Texas. 4 February 1909. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. 1 2 3 "Death Penalty for Leon C. Martinez". The Galveston Daily News. 70 (129). Galveston, Texas. 30 July 1911. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ Villanueva Jr. 2017, p. 79.
  12. 1 2 Villanueva Jr. 2017, pp. 81–82.
  13. ↑ Villanueva Jr. 2017, p. 82.
  14. ↑ "Martinez Found Guilty of Killing of Miss Brown". El Paso Herald. El Paso, Texas. 29 July 1911. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ Villanueva Jr. 2017, p. 86.
  16. ↑ "Seeks Habeas Corpus". The Austin Statesman. 42 (235). Austin, Texas. 2 September 1911. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ Villanueva Jr. 2017, pp. 87–88, 91–95.
  18. ↑ "Pecos People Go to Martinez Trial". El Paso Herald. El Paso, Texas. 1 November 1911. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ↑ Villanueva Jr. 2017, pp. 99–100.
  20. ↑ "Miss Mabel Rarey Becomes Bride of William Paul Brady; News Notes from Lower End of Pecos Valley". Albuquerque Morning Journal. CXXXII (65). Albuquerque, New Mexico. 4 December 1911. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.

Bibliography

  • Villanueva Jr., Nicholas (2017). The Lynching of Mexicans in the Texas Borderlands. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. ISBN 978-0-8263-5838-7.
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